Source: European Parliament
Priority question for written answer P-003504/2025
to the Council
Rule 144
Catherine Griset (PfE), Marie-Luce Brasier-Clain (PfE), Mathilde Androuët (PfE), Gilles Pennelle (PfE), Pascale Piera (PfE), Mélanie Disdier (PfE), Virginie Joron (PfE), Julie Rechagneux (PfE), Julien Leonardelli (PfE)
On the pretext of combating child sexual abuse material, the Council is considering allowing AI to detect and analyse all electronic messages, including encrypted conversations.
This proposal would undermine the right to privacy, and privacy of correspondence in particular. It would thus violate Article 7 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and could:
– facilitate the interception of communications by malicious actors (hackers, terrorists, unscrupulous private companies and intelligence services of non-EU countries);
– make our digital companies less competitive;
– increase the number of innocent people wrongly accused of child sexual abuse offences, due to inherent errors in AI; and
– enable certain Member States to curtail freedom of expression and of assembly.
- 1.Why is the Council attempting to exempt such interceptions of communications from prior authorisation and review by the courts in the context of criminal investigations and for a limited period of time?
- 2.Which Member States came out in favour of such interceptions of communications?
- 3.Finally, since almost all electronic messaging systems are based outside Europe, how does the Council hope to escape the inevitable retaliation from the US that will once again affect our economy?
Submitted: 10.9.2025